Shooting the Moon to Illuminate the Stars

Despite the prominence of the “final frontier” of space in our collective consciousness, for many, the pathways to careers in space-related fields remain hazy. That is certainly true with space engineering.

STEMnetX, a Pittsburgh-based initiative that inspires underserved students to pursue STEM education, is trying to change that. In collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh’s Pitt Space, the initiative has received a 2025 Moonshot Grant from Remake Learning to open pathways for space-related STEM education for high school students across Allegheny County.

“There is so much space-related research going on in Pittsburgh, and by allowing students to see themselves as scientists and engineers, we hope to inspire them to pursue education and a career in STEM,” said Rama Bala, a faculty member in the Pitt Space program and the President and CEO of STEMnetX. “We are grateful for Remake Learning’s generous support and for their work to transform education.”

Remake Learning is a Pittsburgh-based network of educators and leaders promoting innovation in teaching and opportunities for all students to thrive. They provide grant funding to organizations that reimagine education and propel it into the future. 

This year, for their Moonshot Grant applications, they received over 100 letters of interest. From those letters, they selected 40 projects and asked for a full proposal. During the second review, Remake Learning chose to fund STEMnetX’s project.

The project seeks to promote workforce development and STEM education in underserved populations through space engineering. Bala and her team will expand the pipeline of students in high school who pursue postsecondary education in STEM-related fields by making space-related careers more tangible.

STEMnetX will build relationships with STEM educators in area high schools and share curriculum with them. The team will begin visiting classrooms to hold workshops, where they will use virtual reality sets to allow students to imagine themselves as astronauts and as space engineers.

During workshops, students will also meet experts in the field. Through networking sessions, they will engage with NASA scientists, industry leaders, and space engineers from Pitt Space. They will discover what space-related research entails and how these individuals pursued their careers.

Beyond their high school classrooms, students will have the opportunity to tour Pitt’s campus to see Pitt Space research in action, visiting labs and facilities while learning about college courses in space engineering.

“The beauty of research in space engineering is that it produces new technologies to improve lives and society while inspiring the next generation of students,” said Alan George, Department Chair, R&H Mickle Endowed Chair, NSF SHREC Space Center Director, and professor of electrical and computer engineering. “Pitt Space is excited to collaborate with STEMnetX to help high-school students set their sights on the stars and beyond.”